Companies that want to use green slogans to attract customers will have to prove with scientific evidence that their claims are true.
More and more often, consumers find claims on the labels of all kinds of products such as “packaging made from 30% recycled plastic”, “sunscreen that respects the ocean” or “T-shirt made from recycled plastic bottles”. The European Comission wants force companies who use this type of “green” claims to verify and prove with scientific evidence that their environmental claims are true and thus fight against the so-called ‘greenwashing’ or the green washing that companies and organizations use to whiten their products.
According to a 2020 study by the European Commission, 53.3% of the environmental claims examined in the EU (out of a total of 150) were vague, misleading or unfounded, while 40% were unsubstantiated. “We want consumers to obtain reliable, consistent and verifiable information. We want more transparent and easy-to-understand environmental labels. And for companies, legal certainty and leveling the playing field in the internal market”, explained the environment commissioner, Vijinius Sinkevicius. on a voluntary rule that will only affect companies that wish to make ecological declarations to consumers and the systems for granting environmental labels.
The absence of common standards for companies that use this type of claim promotes the so-called ‘green washing’ and creates unequal conditions in the European market to the detriment of truly sustainable companies. To deal with this behavior, the Community Executive has adopted a new legislative proposal which will require companies that decide to use a “green declaration” on their products or services to respect some minimum standards.
The proposal establishes common criteria to identify misleading environmental claims so that consumers have more clarity and more reassurance that when something is sold as organic, it really is, and better quality information to choose environmentally friendly products and services. According to Brussels, companies that make an effort to improve the environmental sustainability of their products will be more easily recognized and rewarded by consumers and will be able to increase their sales.
independent verification
For example, before companies inform consumers of the ecological benefits of their products or services, such claims will need to be independently verified and supported by scientific evidence. As part of scientific analysiscompanies must identify the environmental impacts that are really relevant to their product, as well as the possible compensations, to offer a complete and accurate picture.
To ensure greater clarity, the new regulations will not allow claims or labels that use an aggregate score of the overall environmental impact of the product, unless otherwise required by EU regulations. In addition, if comparing products or organizations with others, such comparisons must be based on equivalent information and data.
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The plan adopted by the college of commissioners, which will now have to be approved by the Council and the European Parliament, will cover all voluntary declarations on the environmental impact, aspects or behavior of a product, service or the trader himself. Allegations covered by current EU regulations are excluded, such as the EU Ecolabel or the organic food logo, because current legislation already guarantees the reliability of these regulated claims. Claims that are covered by future EU regulations are also excluded.
What the proposal does do is regulate the environmental labels. Currently, there are at least 230 different labels, which, according to Brussels, causes a lot of confusion and mistrust among consumers. To control the proliferation of this type of labels, new public labeling systems will not be allowed, unless they are developed at a European level, any new private system will have to demonstrate a greater environmental ambition than the existing ones and obtain prior approval to be authorized.